Band  leader Andrew Emlen, founded folk ensemble Willapa Hills, in 2003,  running for 11 years, before the creation of Skamokawa Swamp Opera  (SSO.) While Willapa Hills was predominantly folk, SSO veers into the  uncharted territory of new wave rock covers produced acoustically, and  genres on the other end of the spectrum. Band member Kyleen Austin’s  classical opera chops, Jillian Raye’s contemporary underground rock  sensibilities, and the pop punk rhythm’s of drummer Erik Friend have  dished out a smorgasbord of quirky lovable music, making SSO a household  favorite on the banks of the Columbia. And to his great credit,  post-pandemic, Emlen now leads SSO into further uncharted territories.
The  band now features Andrew Emlen on cello, guitar, mandocello, banjo, and  vocals; Kyleen Austin on guitar and vocals; Erik Friend on percussion,  mandolin, and vocals; and Wren Hendricks on guitar and vocals. This band  is known for their vocal harmonies and unique arrangements for guitar,  cello, banjo, mandolin, percussion and voice. 
No genre left  unturned, well maybe a few— they’ve been a favorite act at the Finnish  American Folk Festival of Naselle, and their performance history  includes Oregon’s premier music festival, The Pickathon, and their  tenure as house band for Portland’s highly popular storytelling stage  show, The Seven Deadly Sins. You’ll hear many of their tunes on KMUN  radio from their latest album release, Foxglove Streets, with tunes  penned by all of the band members.
Thank you to our show sponsors
Sherry Aust
Kristine & Jeff Nevitt
Seniors Sunset Times